New Saka-Tsuku Game

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The game you've been waiting for! Wait... no you haven't.

By Anoop Gantayat

Sega Japan announced today the latest entry in the Saka-Tsusku series of Japan-only soccer simulation games. Titled J.League Pro Soccer Club wo Tsukurou! '04, this sequel is being developed for the PS2 for release on 6/24.

The Saka-Tsusku games are part of Sega's Tsukurou! lineup of sports simulation titles that also includes baseball and horse racing. The names of the soccer titles translate to Let's Make a Pro Soccer Club!, and that's exactly what you do, creating a team from the ground up, choosing your stadium, players, uniform styles, and even selecting your own secretary! Management areas of the game are emphasized in these titles.

This latest entry in the series seems to up the ante as far as soccer simulations are concerned. Features include the highest player count in history for the series, with over 10,000 players. This includes J.League members as well as members of European and Brazilian clubs all complete with the latest data. With the game's new "Play Style" system, players can be trained to play multiple styles, selectable by you during a match.

Sega is also giving the game some new threads, with a new interface, added animation patterns (primarily during goal scenes), shortened load times, help features for beginners and more. The limited networking features from the previous entry seem to be mostly unchanged, though, allowing you to send and receive match data in order to play virtual matches against others. You can also, apparently, exchange business cards that you've designed for your team.

Maybe these simulation games are getting a little too real.

The first pictures of the game, included on the media page, come from Japanese website Impress GameWatch.